The Cynical Christian

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Omitting God

Let’s say you were president. Let’s further say that in spite of campaign promises to the contrary, your presidency has brought a certain amount of divisiveness to the land.

Let’s even further say that no small portion of said divisiveness stems from the fact that, for whatever reason, a significant percentage of your constituents believe you are not sincere in your Christian faith, in your protestations of concern for their religious freedom, or in your appreciation of the Christian traditions of the nation. You maintain that this is silliness, yet the opinion persists.

If you were then asked to recite the Gettysburg Address, what two words would you make sure not to leave out of it?

Some may argue that earlier drafts of the Address didn’t contain the words “Under God” but that’s just blather because later drafts did so it doesn’t matter what earlier drafts stated. And when asked to give a copy of what he said at Gettysburg, Lincoln wrote it down with the words “under God.” The words “under God” are on the Lincoln Memorial as well.

But Obama deleted them.

I mean, come on. Even if this is completely innocent, Obama is way past the point where he needs to put a little extra effort into being sensitive to stuff like this.

George W. Bush stopped playing golf during the Iraq war because he didn’t even want to seem like he wasn’t always concerned about the war. He wanted to reinforce the idea that it mattered to him deeply.

If he had continued playing golf, or done anything else to create the impression that he was indifferent to the lives of soldiers in the field, the same people who defend Obama over things like this would have gone absolutely bonkers. What impression is Obama creating about his concerns? Is that impression not just as significant as Bush’s golf schedule?